im building a motor that i plan on putting at least 10 pound of boost to. i was thinking a copper head gasket is superior, but it says you need to use o-rings with them, cam somebody fill me in on the whole o-rings and copper head gasket deal, is it practical or more of a setup you would use on a race car? it will be a daily driver but i want it to be tough.

id like to just use a regular head gasket for ease but are these good enough for boosted aplications?

and also, are there any disadvantages to buying one of those relatively cheap full gasket sets over buying the gaskets individually, if i were to get a full set i would buty my own head gaskets as squish thickness is unspecified in full gasket sets which is important.

basicaly, what would you guys do, i just wanted to get some of your guys thoughts and opinions being that im not very experienced with this at all.

 

Have the block decked and run MLS gaskets. To run copper you will not only need to have it decked, but also have the block o-ringed and a receiver groove cut into the heads. - The MLS gaskets will take atleast as much boost w/o issue and they tend to be easier to get the water jackets sealed correctly.

Have the block true-decked, as one side is likely taller/shorter than the other. Having it true decked means they'll cut the short side perfect, then machine the tall side to the same height.

I often buy the cheap performance gasket kits an then buy whatever head gaskets I need, sometimes also specific intake gaskets if needed. The cheapy head gaskets aren't even a SS fire-ring.

I have seen as much as 18psi fairly reliable on the standard performance head gaskets, although the true reliability remains questionable.

 

I've been using GM performance gaskets from Summit with aluminum heads and 10psi for a couple years with no issues. When I was researching it seemed like most people go copper when running big boost numbers (20+psi).

 

my motor is zero decked, which is a true deck because they measure the 4 corner pistons. im not going to have any machining done, i bought the motor with all the machine work already done and its going to stay that way.

so of the non copper gaskets, what is the best style, i notice their are a few different types.

thanks for the replies.

 

i'll be using commetic MLS gasket for my motor

 

so what size diameter should i get, do you go for the same size as your bore or a tad larger? to be honest i don't know what size bore i have, i know its bored over, more than likely .030 but it could be less or more.

 

if you go to a larger bore then you have u have to put that into your equation for compression ratio but a bore the same size is fine

 

ill probably just get some 4.060 gaskets, seems like the more popular size.

 

thta's what i got it'll lower your compression just a tad more but i found a compression ration calc. online and you can just punch in the numbers and it'll give you your compression number good luck

 

mls and deck FTW. ive heard of the fel pro blues handling a fair amount of boost, but not as long and as much as the mls's.

 

so mls is supposed to be a good gasket for boost you say? your refering to something like this then?
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...0&autoview=sku

good price too.


so while we are talking gaskets, i have a quick question. im not using an egr, i will have it blocked off on the stock manifold which has the egr ports. so should i get intake gaskets with the cutout for the egr or not? im thinking the ones without cutouts are for use with an intake manifold that goes clean across with no egr port.

thanks alot, you all have been a big help.

 

multi layer steel, u got it. all of are cars at work run them, boost or no boost, they are very good gaskets. BUT u have to have 2 flat surfaces to start with, they dont fill voids well.

as for the intake gaskets, i would prolly say to run the correct ones for the egr manifold, but i think they sell racing ones with little tin plugs that set into the gasket before the maifold goes on. im not 100%, maybe someone else will chime in on that one.

 

iroc your correct they still sell the gaskets with the tin inserts

 

MLS gaskets and head studs FTW. Make sure you have at least a 50ra finish on your heads and block deck, as mentioned, they don't fill in voids.

 

the block has been decked. i ordered the flatout mls .040 thick headgaskets from summit a few minutes ago as well as a cam and several other gaskets, fuel pump block off, valve cover breathers, ect.

so my block has been decked, and the gaskets that im peeling off were only on there for 2 races then sat for a few years. whats the best way to clean the gasket surface? at work i just use a medium grit gasket surface cleaning disc on a die grinder, but i work on atvs and dirt bikes, is this a suitable method for cleaning off the deck or should i use a lighter grit wheel?

 

i would be careful when using the coarse grits, i generally use a razor, then run a yellow plastic bristol wheel on a die grinder.

 

excuse my lack of knowledge, but what is a bristol wheel, are you just referring to a much lighter grit abrasive wheel?